Song of Spring

A quick note-I wrote this piece about a month ago and didn't publish at the time.  Health issues and life in general still keep me hopping, but I am hanging tough and will persevere!  I hope you enjoy reading this piece!~ Trudy

Hello, darling readers!  I know, it has been awhile since I have ventured this way!  My only explanation is a few minor health issues, lack of inspiration and need to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather that has ventured over Missouri during the last month!  Today is different, it is the first day in over a month that we will have closer to a “normal average high” temperature.  It also rained quite heavily last night, so rushing to be outside in the mud is not on the agenda!

It’s been a strange spring!  Plants have bloomed much earlier than usual.  Trees are almost fully out in leaf.  My beautiful Lilac bush has just about gone by on the blooming stage.  Normally, it blooms closer to the end of April.  My husband actually did some mowing yesterday evening as well!  Gardeners, such as myself, have been in a rush to get things in the ground.  I did put some early spring plants in the vegetable garden, such as peas, lettuce, broccoli, carrots and radishes.  I took a pass on warmer weather plants, such as tomatoes, because I know that spring weather can be unpredictable.  The risk I take with the early spring crops is that they could bolt to seed if the weather stays unseasonably warm.  But, this is Missouri, and we still face a frost risk, for at least another month.  The cool weather crops can handle a hit of frost.  Tomatoes on the other hand, can not!  Like I said, it has been an unusually warm spring and the plants are doing their thing about a month or so ahead of schedule!

So, I have been outside quite a bit!  We turned off the heat and opened up the windows and let the fresh air in to the house!  I was so upset the other day because it actually got hot and humid enough that we had to close the house back up again and turn on the central air!  I like the fresh air.  I like feeling the breeze blow in through the open windows.  I love hearing the birds sing.  It’s a way for me to still feel connected to the outdoors even when I am doing the things inside that need to be done.  Closing up the house makes me feel disconnected and isolated.  One of the hardest adjustments for me since moving to Missouri has been dealing with air conditioning in the summer time.  In Vermont, summer is a time to be connected with the outdoors!  You open the windows in June, day and night, and they stay open until the end of August!  And if the house gets a little too stuffy, you go outside and sit in the shade, or go swimming at the brook.  That’s a tough thing to do here in Missouri when the temps hit 102 with 100 percent humidity!  Spring has now become my most favorite season here in Missouri, because it is more like the summers that I was used to back home in Vermont!

Being outdoors, especially in the garden, is a form of meditation for me personally.  There is something very satisfying in the experience of planting and weeding and hoping for the future!  If the tiny little seeds germinate, if the small plants survive and thrive, there is a hope for eating something fresh and wonderful from the ground that you have toiled to work!  It requires attention.  Weeds must be pulled.  Beneficial insects encouraged to pollinate.  Pests that would destroy your efforts, swiftly dealt with.  You don’t just simply throw things on the ground and hope that when you come back later, something will have stuck!  In order to be successful, you must engage in the process!

There’s a metaphor for life!  Engage in the process!  Pay attention to the details!  Prior to the economic crash, there were individuals who were warning that the pestilent swarm of collapse was coming.  Yet, we chose to ignore the sirens and hope for the best.  We threw our seeds on the ground and walked away and hoped that nature would take care of itself.  We called it “market forces” and opted to believe that they would keep the weeds in check and that the locusts would stay at bay.  We have paid a price for that philosophy and hopefully learned a valuable lesson as a country.

We can carry that lesson into our personal lives as well.  I think so many of us struggle because we have literally thrown our creative seed out in the proverbial wind and then wonder why things haven’t turned out the way we hoped they would!  We have hopes and dreams but they seem too big, too impossible to accomplish!  It seems like something is always coming up that either robs us of our energy to carry on, like a weed, or chews away at our confidence, like a locust!  We get tossed to and fro and our dreams shrivel up inside, never to see the light of day because the outcome is too much to hope for!  But let me ask you this-is God a big God?  Do you think God would give you hopes and dreams if HE didn’t already have a way for them to be accomplished?

The first thing to ask yourself is what do you think God wants you to accomplish?  Your first thought might be, I dunno!  But you do!  Think about the things you would like to accomplish.  When you do that, I have found that usually, these can be the seeds of the vision that God has planted inside of you.  It may not always be the case, (sometimes our ego can get in the way) but many times, when you take a good, hard critical look, you can find the seeds of a long term vision.  What do you hope to change?  In other words, what is the outcome that you would like to see?  Some would call it a goal.  I prefer to think of it as God’s vision for my life (once I have taken the time to get my ego out of the way)!  From there, we step back.  What will it take to get there?  This is a great way to come up with individual things that must be done along the way and it helps you identify what needs to be done first!  It forces you to pay attention to the details!  It also provides a way to become engaged in the process.  It becomes a way to engage with God in a very personal way!

This is not a new way of doing things, contrary to what popular culture would have you think!  God has longed to engage in a personal way since time immortal!  Think about it-why send Jesus to suffer on the cross if God was not a God of personal engagement?  Look at anything big that was done in the Bible, such as building the ark or the temple.  When you read about the undertaking, you always find very detailed descriptions of just exactly how the “goal” was accomplished.  First, came the vision.  Then came the details!  Even Jesus was very specific with the Disciples.  Jesus would go on  ahead of them as the Savior.  The Disciples would then share the Good News with all who would listen!  It wouldn’t be easy!  The High Council would dog every step.  Individuals would not receive them.  Sometimes even their own followers would cause them to have to settle disputes.  But their job, their goal would be to share the message and spread the word of God’s love and saving grace, one person, one town at a time!  If they tended the seeds that they planted, eventually the faith would grow and bloom and the bounty would spread!  But it would not happen if they did not take the time to engage in the process and pay attention to the details.  Details matter if you truly want to see the vision through!

Do you feel like you are floundering about, doing a whole lot of things and getting nowhere?  Stuck in the mire of everyday life?  Take some time away by yourself to meditate and listen for God‘s vision.  Your “meditation” may be being out in the garden, or maybe it is turning wrenches on your car project or perhaps it is just sitting quietly at the kitchen table.  Do what helps you think best and ask yourself, what is God’s vision for me?  Perhaps it is becoming a teacher or volunteering to help out a worthy cause or becoming the very best in your field of endeavor so that you can help others.  Whatever it is, get a clear vision of that “end-goal”.  Then take the time to look at the steps necessary to get you to that place.  Don’t be surprised if it takes a little while to come up with a plan because great things take careful consideration!  God is a big God who will show you the way!  Get yourself  spiritually in a position to take that first step!  Once the first step becomes clear, engage!

Psalm 40, verses 1-3 sums it up nicely:

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.”

May the God of all creation bless you fully, so you may be a blessing to others!  Amen and Amen!  On your way because your journey begins…today!

Pay Attention to Whispers from God

I haven't talked a whole lot about Leadership Institute on my blog but I had a friend ask me to share some of what I learned and what I thought and what I came away with from those two very busy days.  So, I started going through all of my notes again trying to put it all into perspective.  There is just so much information!

As I looked through my notes though, one thing really jumped out at me and it is something I have been mulling over ever since the conference, without consciously being aware of that fact.  Bill Hybels was the guest speaker on the last day and this is actually the last point that he made in his talk.  He said "pay attention to the whispers from God.  Big things start with a whisper."

A whisper or that still small voice.  What is God saying to me about my life?  What is God saying to me about church and ministry and where is it all going?  How is it growing?  Do I listen?  Do I hear?  Am I acting on what I hear?  Big things, visions, dreams.  That's the stuff that the future is made of, something to work towards.

If I have to be honest with myself (tough but necessary) here's the honest truth.  I'm leery of dreaming.  I'm hesitant to hope.  Things are changing alright, but not necessarily for the better.  When you deal with people who think everything is just honky dory and have no clue as to what you're talking about...it's like speaking a foreign language.  Add to that the day to day realities of just confronting what pops up and has to be dealt with, I feel like I'm too busy dealing to do much dreaming.

It's not that I don't dream-I have plenty!  It's more feeling like they are simply pipe dreams.  They are nice, warm, fuzzy thoughts without any possibility of becoming reality.  Perhaps this is my cynical wandering in the desert stage.  On the plus side, the desert is usually the stage when I find the most growth spiritually.  If you survive this, you can take on the next big challenge!  Toughened up by one challenge at a time!  Walking by faith, not by sight.

And perhaps that is why the whispers are becoming so much more constant and insistent.  I hear them and do not see how these dreams can be accomplished.  But God is so much bigger, he can see so much farther and he is able to do all things!

Trust, believe and dream, the whispers say to me.  What is just beyond the horizon is going to be awesome to see!  I hope so!  Lord help me to believe!  Help me to believe in your big God given dreams!

Am I a Dissenter?

Paul has some pretty strong words in Titus regarding "leaders" and "rebels".  In chapter 1, here is what The Message paraphrase says:

"Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst.  They've got to be shut up.  They're disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck."

In chapter 3 Paul goes on to say:

"Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand.  No insults, no fights.  God's people should be bighearted and courteous." 

Well, I'm not out for a fast buck, if I was I would have enabled the ad feature on my blog.  I do support my leaders in church and in government.  But I have been critical of some of the choices that leadership has made in recent months.  Does that make me a dissenter?  A rabble rouser?   Am I part of the problem?

It's a tough question but I think that we all have to ask ourselves this question every once in awhile.  It can be hard to be objective when you have to examine yourself but I ask myself the question to make sure that my moral compass is on track.  Am I doing what is being asked of me to the very best of my ability?  The whole point of blogging for me is not merely to criticize, condemn and complain but hopefully, to make people think and to inspire and encourage!  Yes, there are things that concern me and I do bring them up on this blog.  But there is so much out there that encourages me and, in my mind, they are stories that need to be shared and told and celebrated!

I look at the words in Joel chapter 2:

"Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters.  Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions.  I'll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both."

 There is a heart element to this as well.  A spirit element.  I know in my heart and spirit that the time is right to help ordinary people connect with the words.  The Bible is not merely a book.  It is a treasure trove of faith and hope, love and wisdom.   But if people are not being taught how to make the connection to their everyday lives than it has no depth and meaning!  I'm not a minister, nor a theology major, nor a professor.  I'm not a leader in government and I don't lead a church.  In truth, I am overlooked and ignored by these individuals. I'm just an ordinary wife, mother, citizen and an individual who happened to take the Lay Speaking course so I could fill in for the minister if needed or help at church in some way.  There is nothing that marks me as extraordinary or special.  I'm plain ole me.  Nothing more, nothing less.  How could I possibly have anything important to say?

The thing that drives me though, the thing that gets me up every morning and makes me sit here and type, is that I see a need to help others understand that they can make a difference!  Ordinary people, just like me, do have a calling and a purpose-they can have an impact!  And I am driven by the need to help people connect the dots.  Here is this parable, or verse and see how it is very similar to what is going on in our world today?  You can relate to the Bible, you can apply what it says and you can make a difference!  Ordinary people can do extraordinary things!

There is a lot of uncertainty in this world right now.  A lot more questions than answers.  But hope lives!  We need to remind ourselves of that fact every once in awhile!  I think the words from the prophet Joel are true today-I think this is the time when young and old will see visions and dream dreams.  Ordinary folk who will have a vision, make the connection and do what is necessary to fulfill those dreams and visions.  I would love to believe that our leaders will "fix" things and make changes but everything in my being says no.  True vision and true change is going to come from the ranks of everyday people-those individuals who are willing to dream and to work to make change happen.

So, if that makes me a dissenter than so be it.  I pray for my leaders and I hope that wisdom will be their guide.  I know, dear readers, that you hope and pray for the same thing.  But I know that I am called to serve the ordinary.  If one story that I share connects with your spirit and inspires you to go out boldly and do what you can do, to the very best of your ability, then I have done what I have been asked to do.

Take those dreams and visions and run with them my darling friends!  Others may view you as ordinary, but I know that your potential is not ordinary.  Your potential is extraordinary!   I will be here, cheering you on as you go out and change your world for the better!  God bless you for having the courage to use your gifts and talents to make a difference in the world around you!

And to answer my own question, am I a dissenter?  I'm pretty confident, the answer is no.  But I'm glad I asked the question.

And You? Go About Your Business Without Fretting or Worrying

The blog post title is part of the concluding line of Daniel chapter 12 in The Message paraphrase.  With everything going on today that word of wisdom from an angel is a good reminder to all of us!

Seriously, there are certain things in life that are beyond our control that we can not do anything about.  I can not stop a stock market crash.  I can not stop a meteor if it chooses to come to close to earth.  I can not cure cancer.  This is not my area of knowledge or expertise.  For some people, this is their area of expertise and God bless them for using their skills to address certain problems!  But in the whole scheme of things there are certain things that are beyond my control and worrying myself sick over them will not help me or anyone else!  Daniel needed this reminder as well!

Prior to these closing lines Daniel had seen some pretty scary visions in vivid detail-sort of like a 3-D bad dream with surround sound!  We know he became physically ill trying to process the information and we know he got distracted from his duties because of the dreams.  Daniel even tells us that he fainted in terror.  It wasn't until an angel came and touched him that he regained some strength and then he was able to listen to the interpretation.  Bottom line, Daniel was seeing future events and they were going to happen and there was nothing that he could do about them.  He was told simply to write them down and then put the vision under lock and key because now was not the time to reveal them to others. 

I know that doesn't sound very hopeful but even in the midst of chaos God always provides hope if we are willing to listen through the ears of faith!  If you go back to chapter 10 when Daniel first encounters the angel he starts off by saying this:

"Daniel' he said, 'man of quality, listen carefully to my message...From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you."

Now understand, at this point in time Daniel had been praying for three weeks.  The angel then goes on to explain that he was delayed because he had to fight against the prince of Persia (keep in mind that battles happen beyond our realm of seeing and understanding) and it wasn't until Michael came to help, that this angel was able to get away in order to speak to Daniel.   Makes you wonder what would have happened if Daniel had stopped praying and waiting for an answer, doesn't it?  

In chapter 12 the angel goes on to tell Daniel that there will be big battles ahead, many will die but those who have chosen to live wisely, those who lead others by their example will be saved.  The angel says this:

"And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like starts forever...In the interim there is going to be a lot of frantic running around, trying to figure out what's going on."

 At the very end the angel tells Daniel to relax and go about his business without worrying.  In other words, keep living the life you have been given to the very best of your ability.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't concern ourselves with things that we should be taking care of ourselves.  What it means is that we can't drive ourselves to distraction and despair over things that are beyond our control.  We can talk a good talk but if we don't lead by example then we can't lead others towards the path they should follow. 

Too often we fall in to one of two camps.  The first camp is the pessimist group-they worry over anything and everything and because they are so obsessed with worrying they get absolutely nothing accomplished.  The world is going to hell in a hand basket and the sky is gonna fall, so what's the point?  Everything is scary, everything is risky and rather than dealing with things right in front of them they just shut down.  The other group is the "the Lord will provide" camp.  I don't have to do anything about this because the Lord will provide.  Again, nothing gets accomplished because they just sit back and wait for the big hand in the sky to drop off what they think they need.  Thing is, what they need may be right smack in front of them but they do nothing with it because it doesn't look like anything they expected! 

There has to be balance.  Don't worry about things you can't change.  Do take care of things that you have control over.  Pray and keep praying for things you need.  Thank God when he shows you how to take care of things in ways that you did not expect.  If you keep on keeping on, regardless of circumstances people will notice.  If you want others to follow lead by example.  Give them something worth following.  And go about your business without fretting or worrying. 

Pretty good advice if you ask me!  It came from an angel.  But if you want even more evidence of what good advice this is, go read what Jesus said because he said the same exact thing!

The Land of Milk, Maple Syrup and Mentors

The first thing you notice when you cross the border between New York and Vermont is the lack of billboards.  Many years ago, the state decided to ban billboards because they were considered a blight on the landscape.  It's an immediate shock to the senses for me because billboards are everywhere here in Missouri!  Don't let the lack of billboards fool ya though, there's a lot going on in the state!  All one has to do is get off the interstate and travel the back roads and you see small farms and businesses thriving!  Small signs posted at the bottom of a driveway tell you that you can buy maple syrup or that a roadside farm stand is just ahead.  Or, you can stop by the Cabot Creamery Annex and browse and buy locally made products to your hearts content!  Add to that the local chambers of commerce who promote everything in their small towns and you have a winning combination!  Compared to other places, there is a stunning level of cooperation between small businesses throughout the state!  Cabot Creamery makes the best cheddar cheese as far as I'm concerned but when you walk in the annex, you find far more than just cheese!  Homemade mixes for biscuits, scones and pancakes.  I counted four different hot chocolate/hot cocoa mixes.  Let's not forget the maple syrup, maple sugar and maple creme!  Plus, micro-brews, hard cider, jams and jellies, salsa, crackers, sodas and soap, the variety is amazing!  Each and every one of the items in the store is locally made by small businesses within the state of Vermont!

Restaurants are no exception.  They go out of their way to use local products from fruits and vegetables to locally raised meat and poultry.  And of course, they use local syrup and cheese and butter.  Believe me, you can taste the difference!  They're proud of the diversity and they're willing to support each other!  They are also willing to talk to complete strangers and answer questions.  Some places like Cabot Creamery and Cold Hollow Cider Mill offer either tours or demonstrations of how their products are made.  They are proud of what they do and they want people to see exactly how it is done.

I tell you all of this because I vividly remember a time when Vermont was not such a hopeful place to live!  Jobs for the average Vermonter just were not there!  Farms were being bought by out of staters for high end developments because milk prices tanked and property taxes went sky high.  There were some farmers who couldn't afford to hold on any longer!  It looked like the Vermont way of life was going to be ripped up and paved over to make room for yet another condominium complex!    Open fields were being replaced by cookie cutter housing.

There were individuals, however, who decided that they were not going to give up so easily!  The traditional way of life was important, it mattered and somehow a piece of it needed to be saved.  Farmers got creative and started creating events that brought people to their farm-the birth of agri-tourism.  Small businesses started creating "value added" products.  Instead of just selling strawberries, how about making some really cool jams?!  They chose to work together and when they started to see success they didn't keep it to themselves.  Instead they created workshops and gatherings where they could teach others to do the same thing!  The cottage industry movement flourished!

You could use a lot of terms to describe these individuals.  Creative, visionary, diligent, hard working, risk taker.  A couple of verses in Proverbs really reminded me of just how important their vision and risk taking were to the community and the state.  In Proverbs 14 (The Message Paraphrase) it says:

"Cynics look high and low for wisdom and never find it; the open minded find it right on their doorstep."

This verse in Proverbs 15 (The Message Paraphrase) also jumped out at me:

"The empty-headed treat life as a plaything; the perceptive grasp its meaning and make a go of it."

The easy out would have been to take the cynics route instead of looking at what they had right on their doorstep.  The easy out would have been walking away instead of trying to make a go of things.  When I say some of these folks took a big risk, I mean they put it all on the line for their vision and goals!  Believe me, they went in to the venture with a lot of fear and trembling!  But life is like that, isn't it?  There's a lot of fear out there in the world today and a lot of hopelessness being purveyed.  Sometimes though, you just have to use that fear to propel you forward to take a risk that you know is worth taking.  Sometimes you just gotta lay it all on the line and trust God that you have been given the skills and strength to fulfill your dream and vision!

The second part of all of this, is the mentoring (which I can not emphasize enough!)  Sharing with others what you did and how you did it and helping them avoid your mistakes and sharing lessons learned is incredibly important!  Even just offering encouragement can be the best gift that you can give someone.  I saw that lesson first hand on the last day that we were in Vermont. 

My 17 year old son Robert starts his Senior year this fall.  I don't know what he will end up doing but I can tell you that he is incredibly gifted and amazingly smart!  One of the things that he is really passionate about is blacksmithing.  He has his own little mini forge set up in our front yard under the trees down the hill.  He had shown an interest a few years ago and after doing a little research I found a local workshop here in Missouri.  I signed him up for so he could check it out.  I signed my husband and Lonnie up as well so the three of them set off on a weekend adventure!  Rob was hooked!  He loved it!  But, there were a lot of people telling him that he couldn't make a business out of it. They thought that he needed to think about doing something else and just keep blacksmithing as his hobby.  I, on the other hand, think that he should follow his heart and use his gifts to the best of his ability!  Long story short, we had passed by a local blacksmithing shop in Marshfield, Vermont and on our last day there we decided to stop so Rob could have a look.  Blackthorne Forge is owned by the wonderful and amazing Steven Bronstein who creates the most incredible pieces of work out of metal!  Steven not only took time out of his busy schedule to talk to Rob, he also helped Rob troubleshoot a couple of things that he had been having problems with at home!  He answered Rob's questions, but more importantly he encouraged him to keep at it and also gave him the name of someone to get in touch with who might be able to help him down the road!  His passion and dedication and his success hopefully gave Rob the encouragement he needed to pursue his dream! 

My hope and prayer is that you are inspired and encouraged to follow your heart and take a risk and use your God given gifts and talents to make a difference.    Life is meant to be lived not feared!  It's time to step forward and do what you were called to do!  And someday, you will be the one mentoring others and sharing your story!  I am looking forward to hearing your story!

Do We Encourage Big Dreams?

In the early hours of yesterday morning I watched the shuttle land for the very last time.  It is indeed the end of the era that I grew up in, believing that we would touch the stars!  My earliest memory of the space program?  Grainy images of astronauts driving around on the moon in their little lunar dune buggy!  As a child, I remember hearing that by the time I was an adult there would be people living in space and on the moon. 

Big dreamers, even bigger dreams!  They may not have accomplished everything they hoped but they did accomplish a lot!  I think that's why movies like "The Right Stuff" and "Apollo 13" are still popular today because they remind us that we stand on the shoulders of big dreamers.   

As I look at my children and their friends I wonder if we are encouraging them to be big dreamers?  With our obsession with structured schedules and test score outcomes are we taking away the free time needed to be able to dream big dreams?  Big dreams are the stuff of innovation!  Some of the biggest innovations have come from someone tinkering in the garage in the back yard!  I have to wonder if our obsession with standardizing everything is sucking the life right out of creativity and robbing us of the next big dreamer?  I'm not sure.

Big dreamers take risks.  They explore, they tinker, they plan and then they risk trying it out.  There are dozens of examples in the Bible from Abraham to Paul.  Each one had a dream and had to make the choice to step out in faith.  In modern times you could mention people like Henry Ford, Chuck Yeager or Bill Gates.  And here's the kicker-each one of them did this without structured play time or scoring high on a standardized test!  Yet no one would accuse them of being ignorant-on the contrary, they are considered a hero or a genius! 

Not to be a downer here, but I just don't see the next big dream on the horizon.  Maybe I'm not looking hard enough or maybe I've become a little jaded.  I think this all goes back to my post from yesterday about looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary.  Young children intuitively know how to do this but can the same be said of them once they get older?  Can they still look at things with wonder and see the possibilities?  Or have we indoctrinated them so far in the standards of "normalcy" that they can not see beyond what we have told them that they should see?

My hope is that the next big dreamer is out there, somewhere.  That in spite of our efforts to standardize everything, this individual still has the ability to think beyond the standard and  instead think creatively.  We need dreamers and thinkers and risk takers!  We need to encourage them to be what they were meant to be.

And maybe as a society we need to re-think our "standards".  Low test scores do not necessarily mean lack of knowledge.  What it may mean is that we have children who do not think in terms of text and coloring in the lines.  Perhaps we should stop guilting ourselves because our child is not the most popular at play group.  Perhaps, we have a child who needs to climb a tree and think deep thoughts or needs to sit with Lego's and create amazing things!  How many children are slipping through the cracks because they don't fit our notion of normal?  Don't get me wrong, sharing your toys,  and getting along with others does matter.  Being able to read and do math and know certain facts does matter.  But as a parent I would argue that each child is different and they come at things in their own unique way.  If we discourage them from using their natural gifts, talents and abilities we are selling their future short!  We are robbing them of the opportunity to not only blossom but to shine! 

We need big dreams and big dreamers!   We need to give our children the space and the tools they need to explore.  Perhaps the biggest gift we can give our children is the gift of free time.  Instead of mourning that our child is somehow "different" we should celebrate and encourage their uniqueness in a positive way.  Who knows, you could be nurturing the next Edison or Einstein, the next Ford or Gates, the next Bach or Monet. 

Proverbs 22:6 says:

"Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it."

Let your child use their natural gifts and abilities.  Let them have the time to dream big dreams.  If you do that, you'll find that your job of being a parent suddenly becomes a lot less stressful.  And I know, because I have helped raise four children to adulthood!  If I do say so myself, they're pretty cool!  Each one unique and different.  Each one with their own set of dreams. 

Dream my darlings, dream!